primaries this month -- arizona and michigan. now time for the first look at our weather. and it's a cold start. feeling like snow, tom. what do you say? >> smells like snow, too. >> yes. we have the possibility of snow developing but not until noontime around the metro area. this morning, no travel problems off to work and school. all the counties in lavendar include a winter weather advisory. it includes montgomery, loudoun, howard county and points north and west. and northern fauquier county.

all of these areas could have accumulating snow. temperatures are near freezing now or below freezing in montgomery, arlington, fairfax, and prince george's counties. and much of southern maryland, though, is above freezing near the bay. away from the waters, near freezing. shenandoah valley out of the mountains near the freezing mark, as well. it's going to play a key role here because road temperatures are still a bit above freezing. but as we take a look at the view from space, we are seeing a storm system beginning to close in. it is producing light snow now in southern ohio, into kentucky, southern indiana. that is going to be coming our way. here's your day planner. sunrise at 7:08. and we'll have the cloud cover thickening as the morning goes on. by noontime, light snow developing around the metro area. earlier around the shenandoah valley and blue ridge. the snow may become more moderate by late afternoon and pile up. i'll show you the snow accumulation forecast map coming up and the evening planning, as

well. danella? we have problems this morning. in annandale, virginia, we have a downed electrical pole. right now blocking all of your lanes. this is on braddock road. closures are between ravensworth and backlick road. megan mcgrath is en route to check things out at that scene. also if you're traveling in the district on new york avenue, new york avenue is shut down at this time at florida avenue in both directions. inbound as well as outbound because of the serious accident as well as an investigation. tracee wilkins is en route to this accident to also check things out. and i'll be back in ten minutes with another update. back to you both. >> thank you very much. breaking news in pakistan. intelligence officials there say u.s. drone missiles killed nine people overnight. the drone fired at a house in north waziristan near the afghan border. the tribal area is dominated by a prominent militant commander focused on fighting foreign troops in afghanistan. authorities have not identified those dead, but pakistan's

security officials and tribal sources say the dead included foreign fighters. opening statements are expected today in the high-profile murder trial involving two former university of virginia lacrosse players. george huguely is charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, yeardley love, in may of 2010. the chevy chase native pleaded not guilty to all the charge against him including first-degree murder. prosecutors say that love died after an enraged huguely violently slammed her head against a wall. the defense argues that she died in part from a mixture of alcohol and prescription medicines. new this morning, one adult and two kids are hurt from a house fire in the district. this happened at the 6400 block of 5th street northwest. firefighters rescued a 15-year-old girl from the second-floor windows. the others made it out on their own. all three were taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. investigators say the fire started in the kitchen and spread to the cabinet. there were no working smoke

detectors. everyone is expected to be okay. a reminder -- rather, this morning, more than a dozen university of maryland students are out of their home because of cracked pipes. that's according to the school's student-run newspaper, "the diamond back." the problem was discovered at the commons building, number three, on knox road. maintenance workers were originally investigating a bug problem there when they discovered several cracked pipes. crews turned the water off as a precaution. school officials say 16 students have been relocated to other dorms and nearby hotels. no word on when the problem will be fixed or when the water will be turned back on. right now as danella mentioned, part of a busy road in fairfax county is closed because of downed power lines. a utility pole came crashing down around 6:30 on braddock road at ferndale street. right now braddock voodoo closed between ravensworth road and backlick road. we're told that the road should open by 7:00 this morning. right now, dominion power crews are working to restore electricity to about 70 customers.

an appeal is now in the works for a ruling that struck down california's ban on gay marriage. supporters of proposition 8 plan to take arguments to the supreme court. proposition 8 tried to limit marriage to one man and one woman. yesterday an appeals court said that ban was unconstitutional. gay rights advocates call it a historic victory, and an attorney defending the ban said courts cannot redefine marriage. governor martin o'malley is speaking out on california's same-sex marriage ruling. he appeared on the reverend al sharpton's msnbc show "politics nation." o'malley said he hopes the proposition 8 decision will encourage lawmakers to pass same-sex marriage legislation. >> granted it was in california, but it interpreted a constitution that all of us live under. and that all of us believe is important for the protection of the rights of individuals. >> legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in maryland died in the house of delegates last year. a number of delegates dropped their support because of

religious and family values concerns, they said. a bill in virginia could allow private agencies to deny adoptions to parents based on sexual orientation or religious and moral beliefs. according to the "washington post," the general assembly is considering a so-called conscience clause. opponents say the proposal would keep gay couples from adopting. supporters argue the bill protects religious freedoms by allowing parents to choose an adoption agency based on their religious beliefs. only north dakota has a similar law. the senate is expected to pass this conscience clause legislation after the house approved it last week. d.c. mayor vincent gray says the district is in better financial shape than any state, and he wants that to continue while growing jobs. he also admitted to making mistakes. during last night's state of the district speech, the mayor says the city must exercise financial discipline. the mayor says the district's reserve fund has grown. he also says he wants to attract more jobs to the area and make the district a technology hub.

>> we want to be the tech destination city on the east coast. a rival, if you will, to silicon valley with talent and fast-growing businesses. [ applause ] >> mayor gray says he takes responsibility for mistakes he made during his first year in office. he says the district government must be transparent to earn back the people's trust. he says his cabinet has signed a pledge. d.c. council member marion barry had a health scare before the state of the district. paramedics examined him and he needed help walking afterward. however, in a tweet to several members of the news4 staff, barry says he's feeling fine. he says he even went to dinner with his godson last night. a d.c. council skaend calling on the city to -- candidate is is calling on the city to the district to stop using a camera on branch avenue near pennsylvania avenue.

willie wilson says the speed trap is at the bottom of a steep hill and unfairly targets elderly drivers who can't afford to pay the $125 fine. bennett is running against word 7 council member yvette alexander in april's democratic primary. it may soon be easier to pay through airport security more quickly. the tsa is expanding its risk-based prescreening security program. it allows passengers the government considers low risk to pass through security without possibly having to take off their shoes, belts, or jackets. the program is currently in use at seven airports nationwide. none in our area. 4:38 is our time. ahead on "news4 today," we're now hearing a woman's frantic call for help after a house explodes. >> it blew up, the house -- >> what the woman's 911 calls reveal about the father who killed his two sons and himself. plus, asking to keep jerry sandusky behind bars, why neighbors say they are concerned about the former assistant

coach. and we're watching the weather.

time for weather & traffic on the 1s. 4:41. good morning, mostly cloudy in storm center 4. all the counties in color under a weather advisory for later today for accumulating snow that includes howard, montgomery, fauquier, rappahannock, points

north and west. all of this due to a storm system that's weak and doesn't have a lot of moisture with it. it's beginning to spread snow into west virginia, ohio, kentucky, and about indiana, illinois. it's going to be coming our way. we're near freezing throughout the region. 38 at reagan national. warmer near the bay. elsewhere, near the freezing mark. and here's your day planner. sunrise at 7:08. it will be a cloudy morning. clouds will be thickening, near 40 by noontime. by then, light snow moving from the west. could be moderate at times. it will be down near freezing by late afternoon and into this evening, as well. that's going to be tapering off to flurries by late evening. i'll show you my snow accumulation forecast map and look at the week and weekend in ten minutes. danella? good morning. we have breaking news if you're traveling in the district. taking new york avenue, new york avenue inbound and outbound is closed at florida avenue. this is because of a serious accident and ongoing investigation. crews are hoping to have the road reopen around 5:30. for now you'll be forced to

follow police direction as a detour is set up in place. if you're traveling in annandale, virginia, now, braddock road is closed from ravensworth road to backlick road due to downed wires. please use caution when traveling in the area. and if you're in maryland on i-270, not seeing any issues for you. here's a live look at falls road. traveling southbound as well as northbound. right now are you in the clear. joe and eun? >> thank you very much. 4:43. 44 degrees out there. still to come, donald trump is coming to the district. we'll show you what his plans are for the historic old post office pavillion. plus, honoring a civil rights pioneer. how one local museum is honoring

welcome back. 4:45. we have breaking news. new york avenue in northeast is shut down in both directions now for a serious accident.

news4's tracee wilkins is live with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, eun. the closures are between florida avenue and 4th street or penn street. right here you see where they are detouring the inbound traffic. you're going to have to make that left on to 4th street. that's right near the pnc bank. and then circle around and make your way down toward florida. now down this way, you can see why. we're standing in the middle of new york avenue because it's shut down. and that tractor-trailer there is in the center of all of this. let me show you a closer look of what's going on down there. that tractor-trailer broke down just after midnight and was parked there in the middle of the roadway. they have construction going on here. actually it wasn't in the middle, it was close to the edge of the road here near the barriers. they have -- construction happening on new york avenue. so the lanes have been narrowed, and they had two directions or two lanes going in both directions when a vehicle crashed into the back of that stopped tractor-trailer, causing

this huge accident there. now, the driver of the vehicle was transported. we're told he was transported in critical condition. we don't have any more information on how the driver is doing now. again, inbound traffic is being diverted. so is outbound traffic. you can't come on to the new york avenue bridge as they are continuing to investigate this accident. i'm tracee wilkins live this morning in northeast. news4. >> thank you. this morning we're hearing some new, chilling details of when josh powell killed himself and both of his children by setting his house on fire in washington state. authorities released the 911 recordings from the social worker who was dropping off the kids for a supervised visit. >> the kids and the father were in the house? >> yes. yes! his sons -- i kept knocking. i thought it was a mistake. i kept knock, and then i called 911. >> you saw him go back into the house right before the flames? >> he didn't ever leave the house. he just opened the door.

the kids were one step of me. they were 5 and 7. he slammed the door in my face. >> josh powell lost custody of the children following their mother's disappearance in utah. police named him a person of interest in her disappearance case. the former executive of susan g. komen for the cure who resigned following the planned parenthood funding controversy is now criticizing the organization. karen handle resigned as vice president of komen yesterday. she against abortion and was reportedly the driving force behind komen's decision to cut funding to planned parenthood for breast cancer screenings. the group said a new policy prevented it from supporting groups including planned parenthood which is under federal investigation. komen reversed its decision after days of criticism. a move that handel disagreed with. she said it was an attempt to distance itself from controversy. prosecutors in the penn state sex abuse trial will ask a judge to crack down on former

assistant coach jerry sandusky. right now sandusky is on house arrest while he awaits trial on more than 50 child sex abuse charges. neighbors claim that he is watching schoolchildren while sitting on his back deck at a home. on friday, prosecutors will ask a judge to order sandusky to stay inside the house until his trial begins. prosecutors say the son of the new york police department commissioner will not face charges in connection with rape allegations. a woman accused greg kelly of raping her after they met for drinks last october. kelly is a television news anchor and the son of nypd commissioner raymond kelly. greg kelly denies any wrongdoing. donald trump is coming to pennsylvania avenue. not to take up residence in the white house now transform a d.c. landmark. the trump organization has signed a deal to transform the old post office pavillion into a luxury inn with more than 250 rooms and world-class restaurants, all while preserving its iconic features. for years the old post office

pavillion has been underused and has been losing money for the federal government. in a statement, the general services administration wrote, "the trump organization will preserve the historic nature of the building and improve the vitality of pennsylvania avenue. this redevelopment represents good business sense on behalf of the american taxpayer, the federal government, and the district of columbia." construction is scheduled to begin in 2014. when it's done, the old post office will be renamed trump international hotel. that's too bad. like to see the old name on there. haeir yet tubman is immortalized in wax. a statue in her likeness was revealed in downtown washington. some of tubman's descendants were on hand for the reveal. she escaped in 1849 from maryland's shore but later returned to lead a countless number of slaves to freedom via the underground railroad. nice tribute to her -- >> very nice. yeah.

good gesture. >> important figure, yes. about 4:51. we have some snow headed our way. here's tom. >> snow. >> and who told you that? >> you. >> tom kierein did. >> that's right, yes. we've been talking about this for the past -- >> we don't mess around here. >> the last couple of days we've been talking about this. it does look like it's going to be working out. into the late morning hours, maybe a few flakes flying in the shenandoah valley. around noontime arriving in washington. and it may get moderate at times by late afternoon for the afternoon commute. you have no trouble this morning getting off to work and school. we've got just a few high clouds drifting over that full moon. there's the washington monument under this partly cloudy sky. reagan national now at 38 degrees. a light northeasterly breeze. all these counties in color under a winter weather advisory for later this morning and into this evening. it does include along the blue ridge from rappahannock county into northern fauquier, loudoun into howard and montgomery and points north and west for accumulating snow. on the radar now, it is

beginning to move in to western west virginia. rain ahead of that. farther to the west, this white area is snow that stretches into kentucky, tennessee, illinois, and indiana. and temperatures out ahead of that now are below freezing to near freezing. mountains, shenandoah valley, blue ridge east to the bay. right near the waters, mid 30s, upper 30s near the tidal president obama. near 30 now in fairfax, arlington, montgomery, prince george's counties. here's the day planner. sunrise at 7:08. a cloudy morning. we'll have the clouds thickening up. late morning and around noon, maybe light snow. temperatures above freezing. most of it melting on roads. then during the afternoon, temperatures dropping. it may accumulate on grassy areas mainly. and that's going to continue into this evening and taper off and end by midnight with flurries by late evening. temperatures hovering around freezing. here's my snow. forecast map. area in dark blue could get higher amounts. mainly on grassy areas, two to four inches. shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, and extreme northern montgomery county into frederick county, maryland,

toward hagerstown. closer to washington, the nearby suburbs, an inch or two on grassy areas mainly in that medium blue zone. lighter blue may get a dusting or so. mostly rain farther south and east of there. then the sun back tomorrow and into friday. highs in the 40s. may get flurries saturday morning. a cold weekend. highs only in 30s on saturday, sunday. warmer but dry first part of next week. danella, how's traffic? if you're traveling in the district, we still have new york avenue shut down at florida avenue due to an accident, serious accident involving a tractor-trailer right now. you have to follow police direction in both directions because your road is closed. in annandale, seeing braddock shut down between ravensworth and backlick due to downed wires. use caution when traveling in the area. making the trip on i-95, looking good. green in both directions heading, you know, making your way from dale city connecting to the beltway, not seeing issues. travel speed in woodbridge past route 123. you're at 62 miles per hour.

and a live look now at fairfax county parkway northbound. not really bad at all. southbound, completely in the clear. travel speed northbound, 60 miles per hour. back to you. >> thank you. it is now 4:54. with division lead on the line, the caps put together one of their best performances this year to shut out the florida panthers. alex ovechkin had two goals in the 4-0 win including the team's first power-play goal in eight games. ovechkin has 22 goals on the season. there was also a short-handed tally. it was a fourth shutout on the year and second against his former team. it would give the caps the first late spot in the southeast division. go, caps! a good night for terps fans, too. maryland beat clemson 64-62. the terps' first road win of the season. they led by double digits for much of the second half but held off a furious rally by clemson to secure the victory. the terps take on duke saturday in durham. that's a big game.

go, terps. >> big game. >> all right. >> you're wearing terrapin red. >> all right. and red for the caps, too. there you go. what's worse, losing the super bowl or being mocked about the losing the super bowl by an online pawn shop? >> ouch. ask wes welker. the new england patriots wide receiver was the target of the jab courtesy of pawngo.com. the web site dumped 900 pounds of butterfingers in boston's copely square yesterday. the gag was a reference to welker's dropped pass during the fourth quarter of sunday's game. had he caught the pass the patriots may have scored a touchdown and won the super bowl. many of welker's teammates have come to his defense, though. not gisele bundchen. >> no. sometime 4:55 -- time is 4:55. coming up, put the salt shaker down. why the cdc says you're most likely consuming too much.

good luck. you're gonna need it. >> plus, the first lady continues her push to get americans active.

community leaders gathered last night to support tracy's kids in chinatown. the organization uses art therapy to help children with cancer. the event honored cancer survivor and advocate barbara

grassley. our parent company comcast, nbc universal, sponsored the event. a new report says nine out of ten of us are eating over twice as much sodium as we should be. most of it is not coming from the salt shaker either. the centers for disease control and prevention says that much of the salt intake comes from what we eat, from when we eat out. the salt comes from lunchmeats, pizza, fresh and processed poultry, soups, cheeseburgers, cheese, pasta, and bread. the cdc suggests eating out less and eating more fruits and vegetables. always the advice. more fruits and vegetables. >> bacon double cheeseburger not a good idea. >> probably not a great idea. good but not a great idea. late night talk show host jimmy fallon turned the white house into playground. >> the greed >> the comedian joined the first lady for her let's move campaign. >> we'll start with a stair race. you ready? >> i was